Several weeks ago I invited a dear friend over to chant and have lunch. He played my harmonium and led us in singing some beautiful chants. We sang Om Namah Shivaya, and also a chant that was new to me: Rama Ragava, Rakshamam; Krishna Keshavam, Pahimam. I dropped into a wonderfully deep, peaceful place inside myself, so then the rest of the day I couldn’t stop exclaiming, “Chanting is the Best Bliss on the planet!”

So then, this past Saturday evening, I attended the Ashland Amma Satsang, and I hadn’t been to an Amma Satsang since early September in Mt. Shasta City. I hadn’t realized how much I had missed it, until we were chanting the bhajans (devotional songs), and I was witnessing myself unwinding. I thought, ‘Wow, how did I get wound up so tightly again?’ And even as I thought that, I watched myself unwinding even more! In total awe, I reveled in the Bliss that arises from within when I am chanting the Names of God. 

Whilst reveling in the Bliss Energies, I was also tuning in to a beloved friend who was sitting right behind me. I received guidance to give him Reiki healing energies, so I asked if he would like to sit in front of me, and I would send Reiki into him by touching his back. He gratefully agreed, and for the remainder of the bhajans, I channeled Reiki energies while we sang the chants. Afterwards I said that was “Bhajan~Reiki”, and we both commented on how special that combination was…

Later, when I got home, I took the above photo of myself, trying to capture the Teja~Bhajan~Reiki~Bliss~State I was in! Combining Bhajan Bliss Energies with Reiki Healing Energies was super sweet and nourishing, and I was filled with incredible Gratitude for the experience.

May all beings everywhere experience the sweet nourishment of Divine Love.

Om Shanti (Peace),

Yogini Tejaswini

p.s. Today is my Grandma’s 97^th Birthday. Happy Birthday, Grandma!

Photo of Teja~Bhajan~Reiki~Bliss~State by Teja Shankara.

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Lately I have been reviewing the Reiki Study Guide written my Reiki Teacher, William Bagley. As part of my spiritual practices, I regularly make vows, commitments, and intentions. Today I committed to doing the following practice: each day I will read aloud the following vows and visualizations/intentions and allow them to create a force of energy in my aura. I intend that the force of this spiritual practice will emanate from me and make more things possible around me. These vows and visualizations/intentions are adapted from William Bagley’s Reiki Study Guide.

Four Vows to Generate Healing Energy

1. I vow to have compassion towards all sentient beings and wish to do what I can to help alleviate their sorrow. I will make my livelihood based on serving the needs of sentient beings. I will help them end sorrow and the causes of sorrow. I will help them find happiness and the causes of happiness. I choose to develop my skillfulness and energy in order to transmute as much sorrow into joy as possible in each moment.

2. I vow to purify my subconscious mind of all craving, negativity, and confusion… I will dedicate myself to becoming enlightened for the sake of both myself and others… I realize that my own emotional energies can either uplift or hurt those around me. I choose to purify my mind so that I may remain a positive force in the lives of others.

3. I vow to develop all the potentials of my divine nature to their fullest… I surrender to the higher energies which want to evolve me further and lovingly release all the life patterns which do not serve my growth. I will not settle for attaching to and indulging in material comfort and sensory pleasures which are transitory and turn into pain when gone. I choose to use my time wisely for my growth and to support the growth of those around me. I choose to have enough material comfort and sensory pleasure to nourish me, while focusing more on evolving myself and experiencing the deeper joy that growth offers.

4. I vow to rest in my natural enlightenment and experience life moment to moment, deepening, expanding, stabilizing, and enriching this experience over time… simply being myself as I arise from oneness in each moment… I relax into being myself and let the mystery of myself unfold in each moment.

Healing Visualizations/Intentions

The Roar of the Lion. I AM. I exist. I am alive. I am here. I have created my life. Everything which has ever happened to me is something I have attracted, allowed, created, and interpreted into existence. I own my whole past as my creation. I forgive myself for any pain I created myself. I will not give my power to anyone outside myself. I will re-script my past from this view and change the thoughts which caused me pain. If anything painful happens to me, I will assume that some thought in me must be released. It is never anyone outside myself who causes me pain. The people I attract to myself reflect different sides of me.

The Violet Flame. I am a violet fire. I blaze through my body and cleanse it of all karma and all illness. I visualize myself blazing through every cell and purifying it. I am breathing the Violet Flame into a full blaze. I let it burn away all the past. I am clean. I am renewed.

Would you like to join me in reading these vows and visualizations/intentions aloud each day? Simply make the commitment to do so, and then let me know how it goes for you. Please email me anytime: teja@yogini-bliss.com 

May all beings know the Deep Bliss that arises from serving others.

Om Shanti (Peace),

Yogini Tejaswini

Photo of Missouri River Sunset by Gregory Hayden. Photo of Teja in Autumn Love Swirling by Teja Shankara.

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I just can’t stop writing blog articles about my last pilgrimage to Mt. Shasta! You know when you have one of those peak experiences in life, and you just want to keep talking about it? Well, that’s how it is for me now with that sacred time on that holy mountain. In this photo, I am sitting at Bunny Flat, meditating on the majesty of Mt. Shasta, and relaxing my left knee which I had injured on my hike to Southgate Meadows the day before.  On that hike (see “A Vegan Yogini’s Radiant Shiva Bliss on Mt. Shasta!”), my left knee felt a little funny as I hiked into the meadows, but I ignored that funny feeling because I was so elated with the scenery. Well, when I stood up to hike back out (after lunching on the rocks at the top of the rushing waters), I was surprised at how much pain I suddenly felt in my left knee. As I began the long hike back to my car, I prayed to my Gurus (Ammachi and Neem Karoli Baba-ji), and I asked the Reiki Guides to send Reiki healing energies into my knee as I hobbled along… And, every few steps I leaned down and “iced” my knee in the rushing waters!

When I returned to my friends’ home for the Amma Satsang, I was surprised that my knee didn’t hurt anymore… And it didn’t hurt again until I got up to Bunny Flat the next day. As I sat there gazing at the mountain, I reflected on the strangeness of it all. You see, I had never had any problems with my left knee before those two days!

And now as I sit here typing, with a left knee that has been just fine since I returned home, I am delighting in the strange mysteries of life, especially the magical mysteries of that Sacred Shiva Mountain!

May all beings everywhere experience Delight in the Great Mystery. May all beings know the Happiness that arises from a Grateful Heart.

Om Shanti (Peace),

Yogini Tejaswini

Photo of Teja by Mt. Shasta by Teja Shankara.

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Photo by Ashley Marie - CC License

On this playground of life, we get to choose how we spend our time: we can choose to run around doing things that lower our vibrations, OR we can choose to commit to regular, daily spiritual practices that raise our vibrations. Each small change that we make within ourselves then ripples out and benefits all of Creation. This year I intend to help raise the vibration of the human species, through my work as a cheerleader for spiritual practices. (This paragraph is repeated each month for emphasis, since this is the theme for the 2011 newsletters.)

Here is some recent news from the playground of my life ~

~ Well, life continues to be crazy and full, as ever. Recently a dear friend wrote to me in an email, “When will this life settle down?” I have to laugh as I ask myself that same question when I am running around to soccer games and school meetings and pilgrimages to Mt. Shasta! (I’ve written a few blog articles about my recent time on Mt. Shasta, and I plan to write more about that memorable adventure. For now, see “A Vegan Yogini’s Radiant Shiva Bliss on Mt. Shasta!” and “Barefoot Vegan Yogini Praying for Divine Grace on Mt. Shasta”) ~ If you can relate to asking the question “When will life settle down?” please take a moment to email me (teja@yogini-bliss.com) and tell me about your experience with that question. The first three people to reply will receive a free e-copy of my pocket book, Radiance Rising: Spiritual Practices for Daily Living. Your reply can be brief or long – just write whatever comes to you in the moment!

~ Amidst the colorful chaos, daily spiritual practices help keep me grounded in my Happy Teja Self. Recently I have been both receiving and giving Reiki healing sessions, as well as deepening into the process of sending distance Reiki during my morning meditations. And, I’ve been reading my Reiki teacher, William Bagley’s book — again! This is at least the third or fourth (or maybe the fifth?) time I’ve read his Reiki Study Guide… and this time I’m absorbing the information on a much deeper level. Here is a section that is quite potent for me:

“Part of advanced teaching is to see that we create our own reality. The ego world is real in the sense that we have created it. But it is unreal in how it sees itself. If we create our own reality, we cannot really be a victim of anything. We choose what experiences we go through. The paradox of the ego world is that people use their power to feel powerless. We can create any reality we want, including a reality where we are victims of an outside world where we cannot create our reality. Because the bottom line is that we create our reality, then any reality we create where we do not see ourselves as the creative agent must be an illusion…. We will sometimes find illusions which feel temporarily safe, but these illusions are fragile. They will be shattered by life simply changing. The natural flow of cause and effect undoes illusions. People are meant to outgrow all illusions and return to reality. Reiki heals by radiating love from a source beyond all illusions.”

~ The Reiki healing energies help me to stay on track in aligning with my purpose. Sometimes I question the process of manifesting intentions (see my blog article, “Manifesting Intentions”: a workable process in this decade?”), but recently my faith in this Magical Universe has been restored! (See “Barefoot Vegan Yogini’s Intentions are Manifesting!”)

~ Lately I have really been enjoying making guacamole in my vegan yogini kitchen. One day I wrote down the recipe, and I’ll share it with you here:

Teja’s Colorful Vegan Guacamole

4 ripe avocados, pitted and peeled
1 medium red bell (sweet) pepper, chopped finely
1 jalapeño pepper, chopped finely, without seeds (or with seeds if you like it hot!)
juice (and some of the pulp) of 1 lemon
1/3 cup fresh cilantro, chopped (use half of stems)
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
¼ teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon Himalayan krystal salt (or sea salt)

Combine all in a bowl as shown in first photo here, then mash all ingredients with a fork… then stir well, and serve. Serving suggestion shown in second photo is of guacamole served on top of cooked quinoa (for instructions on cooking quinoa, please see “Vegan Pinto-Quinoa Loaf”), with little tomatoes and pea sprouts on the side.

This is a fancy version of guacamole. Often I make a simpler version that is equally tasty, which is just avocado, lemon juice and pulp, salt, and pepper. So if you don’t have much time, you can still enjoy a tasty guacamole!

Please let me know how you like this recipe…

~ Whatever reality you are creating for yourself in this present moment, and regardless of how crazy it may be, I wish you inner peace amidst the chaos. May you take some time to ground yourself and cultivate happiness during this brief time on the playground of life.

May all beings have food, clothing, shelter, and peaceful sleep. May we all live together in Peace. Happy International Day of Peace tomorrow. (“International Peace Day this Wednesday”) Please join in the one-minute of silent prayer for peace at 12:00 noon in your local time zone, anywhere you are on this sacred planet earth.

Om Shanti (Peace),

Yogini Tejaswini

Photos of Teja’s Guacamole by Teja Shankara.

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“Nobody’s free until everybody’s free.” ~ Fannie Lou Hamer, American civil rights activist, 1917-1977. (Some sources credit this quote to Martin Luther King, Jr.) When I reflect upon how everything and everyone is interconnected in one continuous web of energy and vibration, I really deeply understand the truth that no one will be free until everyone is free. I recently visited a city zoo and my experience there with the birds got me thinking about freedom.

While passing the rather smallish cages containing pairs of large birds, I really studied their facial expressions and overall energies. As a Reiki practitioner (see my new business page, www.RadianceRisingReiki.com), and as a Raja yogini, I tend to see beneath the surface of people and things. The melancholic look in the eyes of the turkey vultures saddened my heart. The energy of depression around the majestic bald eagles was almost too much to bear. And then, the anguish of despair in the faces of the red-tailed hawks hit a deep chord of compassion in me. Spontaneously, I began talking with them. I said, “Try to make the best of it. Think of Nelson Mandela, and all those years he spent in prison.” I’m a bit teary as I type that last sentence.

So then, after all that, we came to a building in which this pair of blue macaws were chattering away on top of a barrel… and I marveled that they were not at all depressed. On the contrary, they didn’t seem to even know that they were confined in a zoo. It was as if they knew that they were free on the inside, no matter what external environment they might be placed in. It was such a delight to witness their happiness.

Now that is something to contemplate!

May all beings be free inside themselves, no matter what is going on around them.

Om Shanti (Peace),

Yogini Tejaswini

Photo of blue macaws in zoo taken by Teja Shankara.

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Photo by Ashley Marie - CC License

On this playground of life, we get to choose how we spend our time: we can choose to run around doing things that lower our vibrations, OR we can choose to commit to regular, daily spiritual practices that raise our vibrations. Each small change that we make within ourselves then ripples out and benefits all of Creation. This year I intend to help raise the vibration of the human species, through my work as a cheerleader for spiritual practices. (This paragraph is repeated each month for emphasis, since this is the theme for the 2011 newsletters.)

Here is some recent news from the playground of my life ~

~ Over the past month, I have begun to experience the joy of de-cluttering my living space. Please read my blog articles about this: “Humor & Gratitude with Clearing Out Clutter!” and “Barefoot Vegan Yogini is Moving Out Clutter!” 

~ This summer continues to be very full and richly abundant in many ways. In the midst of it all, I strengthened my Gratitude muscle by reading and reviewing Café Gratitude’s recipe book ~ “Teja’s Review of I Am Grateful: Recipes & Lifestyle of Café Gratitude, by Terces Engelhart with Orchid”

~ What does the word “fun” mean to you now, in this phase of your life? That is a question I’ve been pondering lately. I think you might enjoy the blog article I wrote about that: “What the word “fun” means now to this vegan yogini…”  I would love to hear your comments on this topic, so please send me an email when you get a free moment: teja@yogini-bliss.com

~ One of the funnest parts of my summer was taking my boys, ages 11 and 14, home to visit family in the Midwest. We met my new niece Zoe, and we spent time with my nearly 97-year-old Grandma. My parents took us to a city zoo, where we rented a swan paddleboat on a green lake. Soon I will publish a blog article about my experience with the birds at that zoo. On our last day of the visit, my brother and his family took us to the Cincinnati Whole Foods Market, which was fun for my sons who have been watching a rather fun video called “Whole Foods Parking Lot”  

~ The day after returning to Ashland, I gave Reiki healing sessions in the Healing Sanctuary at the Peace Village Festival. It was so wonderful for me to spend that time immersed in the Loving Energy that is Reiki, but then I spent some time at the festival, and my system became overwhelmed by all of the ganja (marijuana) energies and entities that were swirling all around me. Feeling exhausted and headachey from those energies, I took refuge in the Goddess Temple. Even though I had been one of the founding members of the Goddess Temple of Ashland, due to the craziness of my life lately, I had not been in the temple since the opening day on March 19^th, 2011. It was such an amazing homecoming for me: I lay down on the carpet for a long time, and I felt so incredibly held by the Mother. It felt as though the Divine Mother’s nurturing energies were cradling me in sweet embrace, soothing all the distressed energies I had unfortunately taken in from the ganja vibrations of the festival.

~ Recently I purchased a massage table, and I will be offering Reiki healing sessions in people’s homes under my new business name, Radiance Rising Reiki. Please stay tuned for more information on this! 

~ Yesterday my dear friend Jill and I traveled down to Mt. Shasta for a wonderful Amma Satsang under the trees on the mountain. Before the bhajans (devotional songs) began, we hiked up to a gorgeous spring. On that hike, I felt as though my barefeet were receiving energies and information from the stones and soil and waters. So much fun!

~ On this great playground of life, I wish you much fun on your journey.

May all beings everywhere know the Deep Joy that arises from having some good healthy fun!

Om Shanti (Peace),

Yogini Tejaswini

Photo of Teja, Zak, and Gabe in the Peace Swan taken by Teja’s Mom; photo of view from Shasta spring taken by Teja Shankara.

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In April I posted a couple of Cultivating the Witness 101 blogs (“Watching Yourself” and “Managing Anger”) in which I described ways to practically apply the spiritual practice of Cultivating the Witness. Once you practice this skill for a while, you begin to see ways in which you can change certain habitual thoughts and reactions. So then, as you witness your thoughts, feelings, and sensations, you can also practice the art of re-framing them.

I’ll share here an example of something I have recently witnessed and then re-framed. Last week when I was visiting my Grandma, I asked her how she coped with the grief after my Grandpa died. I have heard her say this many times (my Grandpa died 17 years ago), but I wanted to hear it again. Even though others disagreed with the way she grieved, it worked for her. As she words it, “You just put it out of your mind – you put your mind on other things and stay very, very busy.” There is definitely something to be said for that attitude, especially when you consider the ancient Indian sutra: The mind becomes that which it dwells upon.

During the last day of that visit with my Grandma, I was witnessing my usual tendency to become overwhelmed with thinking of all the work I have to do when I return home. And right as I witnessed the overwhelm sensation creeping in, I thought of my Grandma’s words, and I immediately re-framed my thoughts. So after witnessing myself thinking, “When I get back to Ashland I have so much to do with launching my new business (Radiance Rising Reiki), and with relatives visiting that week, and with the boys starting school and soccer and…on and on”, I changed my thinking to: “I am so grateful for this opportunity to be very, very busy and to put that grief out of my mind.”

With so much Gratitude for the art of re-framing negative tendencies, I close today’s blog article with a wonderful quote from Be Here Now by Ram Dass: “You are being guided. In fact, the next message you need in the treasure hunt is exactly where you are when you need it. The message may be in the form of a teacher or a lover or an enemy or a pet or a rock or a chemical or a book or a feeling of great despair or a physical illness or the eyes of a person you pass on the street.” I am super grateful that the next message I needed came through my Grandma exactly where I was, sitting with her in the garden.

May all beings know Healing and Peace. 

Om Shanti (Peace), 

Yogini Tejaswini

Photo of Teja’s Grandma’s garden taken by Teja Shankara.

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Today my boys and I are going traveling by airplane, to visit family across the country. I’m not taking my computer on the trip, so I will be away from the Teja Blog until after August 20^th… And, when I return from this little journey to meet my new niece Zoe (born on April 10^th, 2011), I am excited to announce that I will be expanding my offerings in Ashland, Oregon, and beyond. I am super grateful for this expansion that the Universe has placed in front of me: under my new business name, Radiance Rising Reiki, I will be offering Reiki healing sessions, Vegan Cooking, and Meditation Circles in people’s homes.

I’ve already invested in a portable massage table… “have table, will travel!” Stay tuned for more information on this when I return to the Teja Blog…

May all beings everywhere know the Happiness that arises from a Grateful Heart. 

Om Shanti (Peace),

Yogini Tejaswini

Teja’s business card designed by Gaelyn Larrick.

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Lately I’ve been thinking about the word “fun” and what it means to me now, at 41 years of age. I mean, what I consider to be fun now is very, very different than what I considered to be fun twenty years ago! Back then I was a party girl, and even though it wasn’t deeply fulfilling, I thought it was great fun to go out drinking with friends. Now I haven’t had a drink, not even a glass of wine, for almost four years, and the thought of drinking does not sound at all fun.

So what is “fun” for me now? Well, basically it’s anything that opens my heart and makes me laugh and/or cry! I have the most fun chanting the Names of God, dancing barefoot on this sacred earth, preparing organic vegan food, giving Reiki healing energies to others, and communing with Nature. One of the absolute most fun days of my life was the day I went hiking alone – and barefoot – at Red Fir Flat on Mt. Shasta. I chanted the Hanuman Chalisa sweetly to that enchanted forest, and then I chanted Om Namah Shivaya all the way back to my car. I took a little 21-second video of that barefoot chanting which you can watch by clicking here: Yogini-Bliss on YouTube. 

I also snapped some photos on that hike, including the one here of my feet on the rocks. The forest was quite magical, although it wasn’t as bright as it appears in this photo. Another thing that I have “fun” doing is fully saturating the color of photos! Born in the Chinese Year of the Rooster, I just love bright colors! To read more about my fun hike that day, please click here: “Happy Teja Chanting the Hanuman Chalisa on Barefoot Hike at Red Fir Flat (on Sacred Mt. Shasta)” 

What do you have fun doing? Please feel free to share in the comments section below this article.

May all beings have fun on this playground of life. May all beings be free.

Om Shanti (Peace),

Yogini Tejaswini

Photo of Teja’s barefeet (color saturated) taken by Teja Shankara.

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Last week I saw an ad about an evening lecture at our local food co-op. It was called “Collaging Your Top Five Passions!” and it was being offered by Belle, Sharry Teague, and Sheila Filan. I wasn’t able to attend the evening, but I was inspired to do the things on my own, so I wrote out my top five passions and a list of 10 simple statements beginning, “When life is ideal I am…” And then I made this collage to reflect what I had written. A few days later I googled “The Passion Test” and took the Passion Test Profile Questionnaire, which was really fun and revealing. (The Passion Test by visionaries Chris Attwood and Janet Bray Attwood.)

I’ll share what I wrote, and maybe you will be inspired to do a bit of writing yourself… If so, please feel free to share your passions in the comments section below this article!

Teja’s Top Five Passions

1. Vegan Organic Food

2. Chanting the Names and other sadhana (spiritual practices), and leading sadhana circles

3. Barefoot dancing on the earth to live drumming by a Fire burning ~ healing self, earth, stars, and worlds through that magic

4. Reiki healing to self, to others, to this Sacred Earth, and to all the beings in all the worlds (including the space beings!)

5. Teja Blogging (including creative photographing)

Teja’s Ten Statements of an ideal life

1. When life is ideal, I am comfortably warm/hot – i.e. the weather is at least 85 degrees.

2. When life is ideal, I am reading and writing creatively each day. (Teja Blog!)

3. When life is ideal, I am exercizing each day.

4. When life is ideal, I am shipping out hundreds or even thousands of books each week.

5. When life is ideal, I am invited regularly to lead Radiance Rising Retreats all over the country and world.

6. When life is ideal, I am managing a vegan café with healing arts studio: educating people about vegan diets and giving Reiki energy healing sessions.

7. When life is ideal, I am leading Radiance Rising Circles in a variety of settings, with different groups. (i.e., at-risk youths, veterans, prisoners.)

8. When life is ideal, I am traveling away from Ashland frequently.

9. When life is ideal, I am chanting the Names daily with my harmonium.

10. When life is ideal, I am spending a lot of healing time on Maui (i.e. this December! ~ attending the retreat with Ram Dass and Krishna Das!)

With so much Gratitude for this process of collaging my passions, I send Reiki healing energies out to all the beings in all the worlds.

May all beings experience the healing energies that come from intimately knowing and living their passions.

Om Shanti (Peace),

Yogini Tejaswini

Photo of Teja’s passions collage taken by Teja Shankara. Images used in collage are by unknown artists. My apologies for not being able to give them credit here. (The exceptions to that not-knowing are: photo of veggies taken by Teja Shankara, and images from Teja’s business card – the card was designed by Gaelyn Larrick.)

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